ERIE, Pa. – The Syracuse ice hockey team (5-10-1, 4-2-1) dropped game one, 4-1, of a two-game set to Mercyhurst (5-10-2, 4-2-1) on Friday night. Freshman Victoria Klimek tallied the only Orange goal of the night, for her fifth score of the season.
“Mercyhurst outworked us tonight, plain and simple,” said head coach Paul Flanagan. “Our effort was inconsistent and only a handful of our players played with pride. We need to be more resilient, play as a team and show up tomorrow with a better sense of urgency.”
HOW IT WAS DECIDED
Klimek put the Orange on the board at the 5:29 mark, intercepting a clearing attempt and dangling around a defender to put the puck in the back of the net. She ranks second on the team in goals scored this season with five, which leads all Syracuse freshmen.
The Lakers notched three unanswered goals, including a short-handed score, in the final eight minutes of the first period to take a 3-1 lead into the first intermission. The teams traded shots throughout the second and third periods before Emma Nuutinen notched Mercyhurst’s fourth goal of the night to finish out the game.
OF NOTE
Senior Abbey Miller made 26 stops in net for the Orange, marking the sixth time this season she has made at least 25 saves in a game.
The Syracuse defense tallied 10 blocked shots in front of Miller for the team’s eighth game with 10+ blocked shots. Freshman Jessica DiGirolamo paced the Orange in blocks with three against the Lakers.
UP NEXT
The Orange and the Lakers play the series finale tomorrow in Erie, Pa. Puck drop is set for 1 p.m. and the game can be streamed on Strech Internet.
